[Page 143.] La Colonna della Vicaria. Signor Amalfi quotes from Voltero, Dizionario filosofico, s.v. "Banqueroute," the following passage:—"Le négociant fallito pouvait dans certaines villes d'Italie garder tous ses biens et frustrer ses créanciers, pourvu qu'il s'assit le derrière nu sur une pierre en présence de tous les marchands. C'était une dérivation douce de l'ancien proverbe romain, Solvere aut in aere, aut in cute, payer de son argent ou de sa peau" (Tradizioni ed usi, p. 123).
[Page 146.] The facts about the descent of the Turks upon Otranto in 1480 will be found stated briefly in all the histories. But they are sufficiently curious to make it worth while to consult the admirable and detailed report made to Ludovic Sforza, Il Moro, by the commissary who served him in his capacity as Duke of Bari. As ruler of the chief Apulian coast town, Il Moro was of course painfully anxious for exact information about the proceedings of the Turks. The report will be found in volume vi. of the Archivio Storico, published by the "Società di Storia Patria," of Naples.
[Page 150.]et seq. The story of Conradin's expedition and death is told best in von Räumer, Geschichte der Hohenstaufen. It will be found also in Amari, La Guerra del Vespro. The two historians report the circumstances of Conradin's death with some differences of detail, having relied on different chronicles. The variations are not essential.
[Page 158.] Details concerning the examination of Conradin's tomb will be found in Filangieri, op. cit.
[Page 161.] For the story of Mas'aniello's revolt I have followed Sign. Gabriele Tontoli, Il Masaniello, overo Discorsi Narrativi, La Sollevatione di Napoli, printed at Naples in 1648. I selected this work (1) because it is rare; (2) because it is full of detail; (3) because it is the narrative of an eye-witness.
[Page 178.] The literature of Vesuvius is immense. As general references, I can only indicate again the works named in the [note] on page 21.
[Page 182.] Braccini's narrative was published at Naples in 1632 under the title Dell'Incendio fattosi nel Vesuvio.
[Page 190.] Palmieri's account has been translated. The Eruption of Vesuvius in 1872 (London, 1873).
[Page 196.] Herculaneum. Once more it is well to refer to Beloch, Campanien.
[Page 201.]et seq. The work of Signori Comparetti and de Petra was published at Turin in 1883, under the title La Villa Ercolanense dei Pisoni. It is one of those monuments of patient, well-directed learning and research which fill one with high hopes for the future of Italian scholarship. I presume the British Museum acquired its copy shortly after publication. I may add that I cut its pages in July, 1900—a fact that says worlds about British scholarship.